Modern luminaires incorporate not only the components necessary to drive the luminous element (e.g. a LED string) but are capable of integrating significant additional functionality, including network connectivity and sensors of various kinds.
Coded light refers to techniques whereby data is embedded in the light emitted by a light source such as an everyday luminaire, by varying the output of the light source in accordance with a suitable signaling method. The light typically comprises both a visible illumination contribution for illuminating a target environment such as room (typically the primary purpose of the light), and an embedded signal for providing information into the environment. To do this, the light is modulated at a certain modulation frequency or frequencies, preferably a high enough frequency so as to be beyond human perception and therefore not affecting the primary illumination function. Data can then be encoded into the light by varying a property of the modulation, e.g. the frequency of the modulation, the amplitude of the modulation, or the phase of the modulation. Thus coded light provides a free-space optical communications technology that can be added as an extension to existing luminaire designs.
Coded light can be detected using an everyday ‘rolling shutter’ type camera, as is often integrated into a mobile device like a mobile phone or tablet. In a rolling-shutter camera, the camera's image capture element is divided into a plurality of lines (typically horizontal lines, i.e. rows) which are exposed in sequence line-by-line. That is, to capture a given frame, first one line is exposed to the light in the target environment, then the next line in the sequence is exposed at a slightly later time, and so forth. Typically the sequence ‘rolls’ in order across the frame, e.g. in rows top to bottom, hence the name ‘rolling shutter’. When used to capture coded light, this means different lines within a frame capture the light at different times and therefore, if the line rate is high enough relative to the modulation frequency, at different phases of the modulation waveform. Thus the modulation in the light can be detected. Coded light can also be detected by using a global shutter camera if the frame rate is high enough relative to the modulation frequency, or using a dedicated photocell with suitable sample rate.
A luminaire that supports transmission of coded light signals can enable many applications of interest, including commissioning, personal control and indoor positioning.
For example, the data embedded in the illumination emitted by a luminaire may comprise an identifier of that luminaire. This identifier can then be used in a commissioning phase to identify the contribution from each luminaire, or during operation can be used to identify a luminaire in order to control it remotely (e.g. via an RF back channel). In another example, the identification can be used for navigation or other location-based functionality, by providing a mapping between the identifier and a known location of the luminaire, and/or other information associated with the location. In this case a device such as a mobile phone or tablet which receives the light (e.g. through a built-in camera) can detect the embedded identifier and use it to look up the corresponding location and/or other information mapped to the identifier (e.g. in a location database accessed over a network such as the Internet). In yet further applications, other information can be directly encoded into the light (as opposed to being looked up based on an ID embedded in the light).